


the last thing I have is you

by emblem_oracle



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Capture, M/M, Minor Matt/Shiro, Panic Attacks, Pre-Canon, Torture references (no detail)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-07
Updated: 2017-05-07
Packaged: 2018-10-29 08:05:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10849878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emblem_oracle/pseuds/emblem_oracle
Summary: After their capture, Matt draws strength from Shiro.





	the last thing I have is you

**Author's Note:**

> I have never written for Voltron before so this has been quite the experience. Hope someone enjoys what follows.

The space station was dark and cold. Neon lights lined the halls, dim and unnatural, and they glowed a deep purple. They were so dim that even with them, Matt struggled to make out anything in the darkness. If he were feeling less anxious, he might have found it in himself to ask what the purpose of them even was. However, as it were, he was panicking.

He strained his eyes to see. He managed to make out Shiro among the shadows through sheer luck. Shiro was constantly fading in and out of consciousness; his eyes sometimes flickering open before all life left him again and they closed. He saw his dad second, conscious yet dazed.

Matt's head ached, so, so badly.

His dad mumbled, voice weak from his weariness, "It will be okay, Matt. Don't worry. It will be okay."

Matt swallowed hard because he knew his father didn't believe it.

He tried to reach out - to hold his dad’s hand as tightly as he could. If they were going to be killed here, at least they wouldn't be alone. At least they would be somewhat close.

Hot pain flared down his arm and he quickly withdrew his outstretched fingers. One of the guard's hissed, “Do not to try that again, earth dweller. There will be consequences.”

Matt nursed his arm against his chest. Now it was no longer just his head that hurt.

It was taking every nerve in his body not to break down on the floor of the space station. Not to cry and to whine and bemoan his fate. Fear for the consequences of doing so were the only thing that kept his feet moving; his eyes open.

"We'll be okay, dad," Matt said, voice cracking under his own terror. He heard him breathe sharply in, but the sound of sobs did not echo from his dad’s direction.

Even now, his dad was doing everything to hide his fear, in an attempt to ease his own worries.

 _'Damn it, dad,'_ Matt thought as tears slipped from his eyes. He forced down sobs and bit down on his lip - hard so he could use the pain as a distraction. ' _Damn you for always being strong.'_

* * *

 

"Take them back to the main fleet for interrogation. The druids will find out what they know."

Matt couldn't breathe. His breath remained stuck in his chest - unable to escape. Then, moments later, his breath escaped in a short puff. Then another breath followed, also short. Then another. And another. Before he knew it, he was hyperventilating inside his helmet. His father whispered a, "It will be okay, Matt, it will all be okay," after the first few sharp breaths but he was already too far gone.

He couldn't breathe. His chest felt so tight. He couldn't breathe.

"Please! We come from a peaceful planet. We wish you no harm! We're unarmed," Shiro tried to reason with their captors. However, it was all for naught. A sentry whacked their gun against his head, knocking him to the floor.

"Shiro!" Matt cried in his breathlessness, until all he could feel was the pound of his heart and the inhale of air. They were going to die here. They were going to be tortured and beaten and they were going to die, they were going to die, all three of them. Dead. Tortured. Beaten.

He was going to die. Shiro was going to die.

His father was going to die.

How would her mother cope with it all? How would Katie? They were a close family. So close, in fact, that losing each other was like losing a limb. Matt didn't know how he would take it if the situation was reversed.

He didn’t know what he would do if his father was killed before him.

The thought just made him breathe harder. He reached out frantically for his father and, finally, he found a hand to hold. His father's grip was so tight it hurt. Still, the contact calmed him some and he used all the will-power he had to try and force back his panic attack. To derive strength from the security his dad always exhibited.

That was until his father was ripped from his grasp.

It was a sudden motion, one that left Matt scrambling at open air. His father was dragged back by his arms, away from his side by the sentries. Matt made one more frantic grab for him but another sentry shoved him hard in the chest and he tumbled onto his back. 

The sentry took out his gun and pointed it at his head. His breathing became even shallower and now he really couldn't breathe.

His father was dragged through the double doors, off to be interrogated.

In that moment, everything became incredibly numb and he couldn’t breathe at all.

* * *

 

"Who are these creatures?" a small, purple creature opened the security doors.

Matt was all too aware of the gun he held. And of the guns his handlers held. From the look on Shiro’s face, he was conscious of them too. Neither of them had been raised around weaponry.

"Earth dwellers. They are to await interrogation in the prison block."

"Your order shall be done."

"Make sure you keep them secure. This one is proving to be quite... rebellious."

Shiro wrestled with his restraints for emphasis, earning him a warning jab to the back. Every time he resisted, Matt's heart stopped, and the panic attack almost renewed itself. The only way he had escaped the last one was a mixture of being knocked unconscious and Shiro's calming tone upon reawakening. However, the risk of another was a very real thing still.

The creature at the door shrugged. "He’s not the first of that likeness. If he proves too troublesome, maybe we will injure his ally." He jabbed a finger in Matt's direction. Shiro noticeably stilled. The creature laughed and turned to him. "Not so defiant now, huh, earthling?"

Shiro glared at him but said nothing.

Moments later, their outer suits were torn away from them, and they were forced into what could only be considered rags. With their hands secured in front of them, the sentries then shoved them into one of the cells, fastening them to the wall before leaving them.

The room fell into complete darkness when the door closed, the sound loud like a death knell. There was not even the slightest hint of light to be found. Matt could not see Shiro and, in that moment, he felt completely and utterly alone.

"This can’t be happening," Matt mumbled. He was disgusted with himself. He was so afraid, so cowardly, that his own father had to put up a front. He wished he was stronger than this, oh how he wished.

"It's alright, Matt," Shiro said soothingly. Every word, though, only served to heighten his anxiety. This was not alright, this was so very, very--

"--far from alright," Matt breathed. There was a rattle of metal from Shiro’s direction and Matt could tell he didn't know what to say.

It was funny, really. Matt had gone without having a panic attack for nearly two years. If he was prone to them, there was no way he would have been allowed to become a space researcher, considering the stress involved with launching into space and all that. Today, though, was like making up for lost time. He could feel the beginnings of a second panic attack coming along and he pressed his head into his hands, trying with all the strength he could muster to allow air into his lungs.

"My father... my dad is gone! He's... he's being interrogated Shiro! They are going to torture him."

"You don't know that,” Shiro said.

"Yes, I do! What else could 'interrogation' mean? what if... what if he dies?" The last few words came out as a whisper and he almost choked on them.

Shiro paused but it was impossible to know what he was doing in the silence. Matt really didn't want to consider the possibility, but how could he not? Locked in an alien cell with interrogation on the brink for them?

Then, Shiro said, "Your father is a strong man. One of the strongest I've ever known. He will make it through."

The answer was so surprising to Matt that it made the tears in his eyes threatening to spill fall still. He raised his head. He still could not see Shiro in the dark but he knew he was near. He could tell from how close his voice sounded.

"Shiro," Matt said slowly. "What's going to happen to us?"

"I don't know," Shiro said. "But we'll make it. I promise. Us and your father."

Matt glanced down at his hands. They were faint outlines in the dark. If his dad could not be at his side, then he was glad - at least - that Shiro could be. That he wasn't completely and utterly alone. 

"Yeah… you're right. Thanks, Shiro."

"You're welcome."

* * *

Matt had been given the opportunity of a lifetime when he'd been asked to join the Kerberos mission. He was by far the youngest communications officer currently graduated from the Garrison; standing at just twenty-two years old. By comparison, Shiro - who had just recently turned twenty-five - was also the youngest pilot.

Still, despite their respective ages, they were considered brilliant. What they lacked in experience, they made up for in raw talent. Matt was far from arrogant, but he was all too aware of his and Shiro’s massive reputations.

Maybe it was those same reputations which had drawn them together in the first place. By the time they were both put onto the mission, the pair were already close friends; close enough that his dad considered Shiro almost like a second son.

While Shiro had never met the rest of his family, Katie and his mom had heard plenty about him and vice-versa.

"Jeez, Matt," Matt remembered Katie saying once "You almost sound like you have a crush on this guy, you talk about him so much."

Matt proceeded to beat her at Tekken as revenge. She always was bad at that game.

The point was, Shiro and Matt were good friends.

So, when Shiro said, "Matt, doesn't the new Legend of Zelda game come out this year?" after hours of deafening silence, Matt burst out laughing. It was a somewhat hoarse sound and the laugh was quickly conquered by fear but it did a little to ease his frayed nerves.

"You are asking that? Now?" Matt asked the dark.

"Better than just thinking about the situation we're in. You love those games, don't you?"

If Shiro wanted a distraction, then he was glad to take up that offer. The silence had granted him time to collect himself and with that, came the ability to think. "I do. And yes, it does. How do you know that, though? You hate Zelda."

"It's not that I hate it. It's more that I'm bad at it. Also, I really don't like that green outfit Zelda--"

"--Link," Matt cut in immediately. "The main character is Link. For the love of God, if we get out of here, never call Link 'Zelda' again. You will be lynched."

Shiro laughed curtly. "Fine, fine. I don’t like the outfit Link wears. It looks ridiculous. I can't take the game seriously at all."

Matt shrugged and had to remind himself that Shiro couldn't see it. "I actually quite like it. Especially the hat. Katie... Katie once dressed up as him for Halloween."

The moment he said her name, his chest began to burn. He swallowed.

Shiro was quick on the uptake. "She must take Halloween pretty seriously. The most I've ever done for Halloween is rip up a t-shirt."

Matt broke out into a grin which hurt his cheeks. "Oh my god, I remember that! I'm pretty sure you killed a couple women that night. You have some serious biceps!"

Shiro chuckled in the dark. "Well, that doesn't extend to me alone. You have decent abs, considering your constitution."

Matt couldn't remember a time when Shiro might have seen them but he was flattered all the same.

"Only 'decent.' Harsh."

"You know what I mean."

The doors of their cell opened suddenly and light come flooding in. For some reason, Matt turned to look at Shiro before their new arrival. The man offered him a reassuring smile but he could see the fear in his eyes.

The nauseous feeling came flooding back.

"It's time, earth dwellers. Get up!"

One of the sentries dragged him to his feet before he could even think to move himself. Stumbling slightly, he cast out a hand toward Shiro, and hoped he would take it before his hand was smacked away yet again.

Shiro's hand quickly reached out and took his hand in his grip. He offered a slight squeeze before letting go, taking the warmth of it away from him.

The contact was brief and all too fleeting. However, it gave Matt strength. Standing a little taller, he braced himself for the horrors which lay ahead. 

With Shiro at his side, he might just get through it all. 

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism is both welcomed and encouraged ^^


End file.
